World's Largest Taxi Booking App Launches In U.S.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- myTaxi, the world's largest taxi booking smartphone application, today launched in Washington, D.C., its first introduction into the U.S. marketplace. The announcement was made during a live-streaming press conference given directly in a moving taxi.

myTaxi is a pioneer and was first launched in Germany in June 2009. It currently connects 2.3 million users to more than 18,000 taxis worldwide. Today marked the first time consumers in the U.S. will have access to the app. myTaxi's innovative services offer consumers a personal, transparent and convenient way to travel with features such as:

Peer-to-peer connection between driver and passenger, including driver photos, information and phone numbers

A ratings system for selecting and reviewing your taxi driver and a favorites list to save your favorite drivers for future pickups

Live tracking of taxi approach on display including arrival time, fare calculator, distance and automatic positioning via GPS

View of every myTaxi in the area on the taxi radar

myTaxi Payment – a direct billing process in the taxi via smartphone

"Americans took more than 10 billion trips on public transportation last year," said Niclaus Mewes, co-founder and CEO, myTaxi. "Smartphones can have an immense impact on urban mobility. At myTaxi we want to rethink and reshape how taxi trips are taken. Passengers and drivers want something convenient, transparent and tailored to their needs. We want to deliver on that."

myTaxi brings a demand for quality to the taxi service for the first time. Every driver using myTaxi has the ability to become a contractor and build their own client base by consistently providing passengers with good service and earning high customer ratings. myTaxi offers a driver-side version of its app allowing taxi drivers to efficiently monitor the locations of customers and receive basic information on each customer once an order is placed.

"The DC Taxicab Commission welcomes any electronic reservation company such as myTaxi, bringing technological advancements to the District of Columbia," said Ron Linton, DC Taxicab Commission Chairperson. "We are delighted that passengers using DC public vehicles-for-hire will enjoy the enhanced quality of service."

During its press conference, myTaxi outlined a voucher system that will be provided to the app's early adopters. The voucher campaign is one of the many programs and features myTaxi will continue to roll out in the D.C. marketplace as it establishes itself as the premiere taxi booking smartphone application. myTaxi will also bring new payment facility into the D.C. taxi market. The implemented feature "myTaxi Payment" provides users with the ability for cashless, card-less payments on all myTaxi rides by registering a credit card to their account. The myTaxi application is available in stores for free download to iOS and Android devices.

About myTaxi

In June 2009 the App myTaxi was launched by founders Niclaus Mewes (CEO) and Sven Kulper (COO). myTaxi is first mover and the world's largest smart phone transportation system for taxis with more than 18,000 taxis attached and 2.3 million user downloads. myTaxi is the first taxi-app with a peer-to-peer connection between passengers and taxi drivers – individual, transparent and personal. The startup employs 95 people in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Poland and USA. Investors are T-Venture Holding GmbH (Telekom), car2go GmbH (Daimler), KfW Bankengruppe, Cinco Capital GmbH (Lars Hinrichs) and e42 GmbH. For more information visit www.mytaxi.com